The Princess Bride Glossary

The Princess Bride Glossary

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Written by Timothy Sexton

Abridgment

A version of a published literary work which has been edited into a shortened or condensed form. The literary device at work behind the book version of The Princess Bride is that it is an abridgment by author William Goldman of much, much longer and more complex book written by the entirely fictitious author S. Morgenstern.

Supplication

A respectfully subservient act of prayer or an obsequious entreaty to another.

Vex

An exasperating and displeasing tendency of others to be irritating and waste one’s time.

Insolvency

Sinking into debt to the point of bankruptcy, financial collapse or outright economic ruin.

Impasse

A point at which two or more entities pursuing opposite ends find themselves deadlocked in a situation from which there is no escape without either a compromise being reached or one of the entities overpowering the other to achieve their goal to the detriment of their opponent.

Inconceivable

Something so unlikely to happen that it is almost impossible to even form a mental conception of it actually taking place. Not merely something incredibly difficult to attain, but something so impractically unfeasible that it takes genuine effort merely to comprehend it being accomplished

Anguish

A distress so profound that it is akin to suffering physical agony even if not actual physical torture has been endured.

Unimpeachable

Honesty, trustworthiness or believability reaching beyond any normal level of doubt or reproach to the point where suspicion becomes…inconceivable.

Albino

A person suffering from a congenital defect characterized by an absence of pigment in the skin and hair. The result is white skin, white hair and, usually, pink eyes. Aside from these definitive physical features, symptoms of albinism may also include a heightened sensitivity to light and involuntarily rapid eye movement.

Anachronistic

A historical inconsistency caused by a factually impossible juxtaposition between an item being described as belonging to or used during a time period in which the item had not yet been invented.

Dread

Feared to such an elevated and unusual extent as to be endowed with a certain reverence or to be so frightful as to inspire awe in others.